


Stuffed Hero

by xTarmanderx



Series: Thiam Half Birthday Challenge [6]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Comfort, Fluff, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-23
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2019-05-27 04:58:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15017153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xTarmanderx/pseuds/xTarmanderx
Summary: Theo has a nightmare and won’t talk to Liam about it. Liam decides maybe a toy can help Theo overcome his fear.





	Stuffed Hero

**Author's Note:**

> Just something short and cute for the toys and games day. A stuffed bear counts, right? :)

Four months after the war and one day after Theo moved in Liam realized there would be a problem. He had known there would be challenges to living with a guy, especially one he had a strained friendship with, but he hadn’t expected there to be a major issue so quickly. Currently Theo was refusing to speak to him, locked in the guest bedroom and most likely wearing headphones as he could hear a faint thrum of bass. If Liam had known it was a touchy subject then he never would have asked over breakfast what Theo was having nightmares about. But the older boy had told him firmly to keep his mouth shut and stay out of his business before heading upstairs to lock himself in his room. 

Now Liam was sitting on his bed, sighing as he tried to replay the conversation in his head. He’d thought it was an innocent enough question but obviously he and Theo hadn’t unlocked that level of friendship yet. Was the older boy ashamed of it? Liam didn’t want him to feel like he had to hide and lock away his emotions but he didn’t want to push him too far. What was the easiest way to go about this? He wanted to be one Theo’s good side, he wanted to actually see the parts of Theo that the dread doctors hadn’t managed to corrupt or erase. Over the last few months they’d grown closer, bonding over Halo matches with Corey and Mason to movie nights with the pack. Not everyone was as trusting of the chimera but Liam tried to bridge the gap between all of them. He wanted everyone to see the dry sense of humor and sharp wit of his friend. Mason had teased him about developing a small crush and Liam couldn’t deny it. Had Mason  _ seen  _ Theo work out before?

“I’m sorry.” Liam said softly, rolling onto his side and staring at the wall that separated his room from the guest room. His gaze shifted to his closet and he studied the contents spilling outward for a moment before he grimaced and got to his feet. At least he could put his moping to use and put his clothes in the hamper or back on hangers. He started to clean, tuning out the steady heartbeat from the other room. 

He lifted a plaid shirt to throw in the hamper and paused as he saw a stuffed paw poking out from under the pile of clothes. He slowly tugged on it, pulling out a worn teddy bear that had seen better days. He’d almost forgotten this existed. For years it had lived in the attic until Liam had started having nightmares again after the berserkers had attacked him and he’d ended up wetting the bed a couple of times. His mom, saint that she was, had said nothing. She’d gently offered to buy him new sheets and one day he had come home from school and found the teddy sitting on his newly made bed. The teddy had been a gift from Liam’s mom when she and his father had first divorced. He’d woken up terrified his mom was leaving too and for eight months he had slept in her room. She’d finally convinced him to sleep in his own bed and bought him a teddy bear to chase the nightmares away. 

Liam stroked his fingers lightly across the torn right ear of the stuffed animal, an idea forming. Maybe Theo wouldn’t talk to him about the nightmare but maybe...maybe he would appreciate the gift. He could phrase it as an apology and a gift to have a truce between them. It certainly couldn’t hurt to try. The worst Theo could do was make fun of him and say no thanks. 

He walked to the guest room and gently knocked, chewing his lip. “What?” Theo answered a heartbeat later, sounding annoyed. 

“Can I come in?” He asked quietly.

“It’s your house.” Theo sighed. He heard the springs of the bed squeak and light footsteps before the door swung open. “Come on in,” He said as he turned and walked back to the bed to sit down.

“Thanks.” Liam followed and sat down beside him, their knees a few inches apart. “I’m sorry about this morning.” He started. 

“I shouldn’t have lost my temper.” Theo sighed and looked at him. “I didn’t need to be so defensive. You were just concerned.”

“Still. It was none of my business.” Liam said gently. “I brought you something.” He added, lifting the teddy bear up. Theo raised his eyebrow and he smiled nervously, “I thought it might help. Not that you need a stuffed animal,” he added quickly with a light blush. “My mom got this for me when I had nightmares as a kid.”

“I’m not a kid, Liam. I don’t need a stuffed toy.” Theo rolled his eyes. 

“I didn’t just use it as a kid. When...when I was first bitten a lot happened. There was this werejaguar names Kate and she controlled these berserkers. They terrified me.” He swallowed hard. “I started having nightmares. I begged Mason to have sleepovers with me and when he wouldn’t...I started to wet the bed. I drank a lot of coffee to try and stay up as long as possible. It was awful. My mom was worried but she never asked. I just came home one day and this little guy was sitting on my bed. We never talked about it but the bear really helped.” He said softly as he watched Theo. “Look. I know you’ve been through a lot and I don’t want to push you. I’m grateful enough that you took me up on living in the guest room and I know that wasn’t easy for you. So I’ll take my victories where I can. But just...consider this a peace offering. You can lock him in a drawer or under the bed or somewhere you don’t have to see him. He’ll look after you the same way he looked after me. I don’t care if you think it’s stupid. It helped.” He said firmly. “So just...take the bear.” He finished lamely before holding it out.

“Liam…” Theo said softly, studying him. He reached forward and took the bear, setting it gingerly on his lap. “Thank you,” he said softly. “It’s not stupid.”

“I just know that sometimes it can be hard to ask for help and sometimes you feel helpless and alone. I couldn’t talk to anyone about the berserkers and I lived in a constant state of fear. I don’t want you to feel the same way,” he said quietly. “I like to think we’re friends.”

“We are.” Theo smiled slightly. “Liam. This is...thank you. It really means a lot.” He said sincerely. “I’m not...I don’t think I’ll be ready to talk about my nightmares any time soon. They feel fresh and there are a lot of them at times.” He admitted. “Maybe one day we’ll be there.”

“Yeah.” Liam smiled. “Until then, you’ve got a stuffed toy bear that can look after you and protect you. He’s small but he’s fierce.”

“Sounds like someone I know.” Theo teased, earning a small scowl from Liam. “Come on, why don’t we grab lunch? I think I can beat you in a game of Halo after.”

“You’re on.” Liam grinned and got to his feet. Theo nodded and stood as well, turning to set the stuffed bear against his pillow. Liam hid his smile as he walked out, feeling lighter than he had all morning. As long as they took this a step at a time, everything would work out in the end. 

  
  



End file.
